


Out of the Stillness

by FionasEmbrace



Series: Overclocked (Kreihiro) [4]
Category: Big Hero 6 (2014)
Genre: Age Difference, Kreihiro, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-04
Updated: 2015-03-04
Packaged: 2018-03-16 08:14:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,146
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3480878
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FionasEmbrace/pseuds/FionasEmbrace
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>On the day of the new SFIT campus building ribbon-cutting ceremony, in the middle of Krei's dedication speech, the masked Yokai plans to exact his revenge. With so little time, Hiro needs to find Krei and stop it from happening. Series finale.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> The tone of this part is a bit different than the others in the series, and doesn't contain explicit language. This is the finale! Hope you enjoyed reading.

Inner San Fransokyo was beautiful, but one of the worst places to drive. Now, the stress of getting out of the commercial district was finally done and over with. They cruised down a long, relaxing straightaway, away from the inner parts of the city with the really steep grades. Less stopping and starting for stop signs at the tops of hills, and far fewer gear transitions. Away from all the dense commuter traffic, and stampedes of people jaywalking. The afternoon air was cool, it was autumn now and the leaves were starting to turn. While the climate here never felt the full force of winter, everyone around here nonetheless had their layers on days like today. Hiro threw on his favorite letterman-style jacket when he headed out. It looked good on him. Since it had some weight to it, it worked just as well as a windbreaker. 

Yes, it was a bit of a facade, given he hadn't yet responded to the SFIT acceptance letter. It still wasn't too late. Yes, he was still considering whether to enroll. He couldn't promise when. Sometime, maybe.

The red and yellow foliage blew in huge torrents over the road. On the one side was the undeveloped wilderness that disappeared into the hills- on the other side was the baywater. 

Krei leaned back in the passenger seat, and looked out the window, relaxing, admiring the scenery. It was straight and simple enough that Hiro could just stay in third the whole time and not have to worry too much about anything. Of course, this region had learner's permits at fourteen-plus-a-bit years of age, so it was not too long ago that he got his, and Cass was nice enough to let him cut his teeth on her car. Being a genius he picked it all up very quickly. Cass's only car was a stick, so learning how to drive manual was sink-or-swim.

Krei's vehicle was a souped-up Corvexus 550RS, one fancy road-capable sportscar. Hiro made a mental note that he should get himself one of these. The power was a little hard to get used to, but it was fine for city driving and he could mod into it some pretty sick robotics. This was a good opportunity to show off his hand-over-hand steering.

Suddenly, he turned into one driveway off to the side, overshadowed by trees. 

"Why are we pulling over?"

The path took them down a driveway, an unpaved clearing in what was otherwise a dense forest. It led nowhere, really. 

"Just gotta do something." Hiro said.

At the end of the driveway, where the trees stopped, were the boundary of some farmers' fields and a view of some of the city highrises ever so far away. The boy pulled the car off to the side, put it in in park, and undid his seatbelt. Krei looked at him, and asked, "Is something wrong?"

Hiro swiftly climbed right across over the shifter and the seat divider, abruptly planting himself onto Krei's lap, in the passenger seat, taking him by surprise. "Hello, there-" Krei murmured playfully, and was cut off by a swift kiss on the mouth. It was impressive how quickly Hiro transplanted himself right over and helped himself to the man's seat. Hiro's body was small and wiry, climbing over the seat wasn't a difficult maneuver. The two of them fit in the seat without too much trouble. 

The suddenness of all this was a bit startling, but he half figured Hiro might just try something like this when he started to pull over, just given the way the boy looked at him. He typically wasn't the one to start anything funny. But, you know, that look- it was something he'd seen before. 

Hiro's little hands felt up Krei's suit, relishing having the man beneath him once more. The CEO gently rested his hands on Hiro's slim shoulders. He noticed the boy was still wearing that letterman jacket, and Krei couldn't lie, he liked it a lot. The way it looked a little bit big on him, and the college logo... 

They pulled one another, tightly, into the kiss. Hiro pushed his full weight into it, pinning the man firmly against the seatback with nowhere to escape. Normally, Krei wasn't one for public displays of affection. Making out in a car wasn't exactly public, but it felt unusual. But the windows of the car were tinted so no one could see inside. Not that it mattered, since there was no one around for miles.

Krei closed his eyes into the kiss. Hiro's legs were arranged a bit awkwardly as they pressed their bodies flush together- okay, maybe, it was a little bit crowded, but who was going to complain. Hiro grabbed the sides of the man's face and pulled him into it. Meanwhile, he shifted his position so he was straddling Krei's lap. It was more comfortable, that way. Even though they only just started getting into it, Hiro got excited really quickly. The close physical contact, the faint sense of the man's cologne, and the body heat provoked something in him. Even now he involuntarily found himself rubbing his hips up against the man seated beneath him. 

In what was possibly the smoothest move ever, Hiro switched a latch on the seat control. Krei flailed in surprise as his seatback unexpectedly plummetted, reclining all the down. 

It had him laying flat on it, and Hiro climbed on top of him. The boy took the opportunity to lay his whole body flush against Krei's. He grabbed the man's shoulders and kissed him with force enough to take his breath away and then some and Krei felt like he couldn't move.

Hiro, unable to resist doing any less, grinded his hips against Krei's. The man could feel what was in there, then he looked down and confirmed it. He found himself getting more than a little flustered, too. All of a sudden his collar felt a little too constricting- he reached for his necktie to fidget with it. Ah, that's right, not wearing it today. Well, one less chokehold he could be put into.

The friction was getting to be too much, even though they were both fully clothed, the feeling of them grinding together was just too much. Krei put his tongue in Hiro's mouth and fought against it, touching the back of the boy's head and forking his fingers through his black hair. Before he knew it he was thrusting his hips a little bit upward, to meet Hiro's. Hiro broke off the kiss to lean into the man's ear and trace wet kisses along it, while letting his hands wander everywhere. 

The way he moved his body on top of Krei's, both flush and breathing heavy, it felt like an incredibly vivid simuation of _something else_ , that is, with all their clothes on. Hiro screwed his eyes shut, desperate to get more, and finally gave in and reached down. Krei had a sharp intake of air the boy pulled his own out, and then Krei's, bringing them together, flesh against flesh. Hiro accidentally kicked the glove compartment as he repositioned himself. Krei ran his hands all down Hiro's slim back, and they slipped up the back of Hiro's shirt, just a little. Hiro reached back and put the man's hands lower. 

One more kiss was all it took, before Hiro felt himself, pushed all the way over the edge- Krei, very soon after. He doubled down, collapsing into the seat with Krei.

They clung to one another, neither feeling the urge to let go. The moments slipped on and on, they came and went as they kissed each other, and very nearly fell asleep in each other's arms. It was so comfortable and serene here, somehow.

Hiro broke the silence.

"Can I tell you something?" 

"Sure."

"I've thought seriously about your offer."

"No." It was too good to be true.

"I really have. It's a lot of money, a lot of recognition, some great connections, and, maybe even more valuable than that- it's a guaranteed robotics career. Who knows- I might be set for life."

"Why do I feel like there's a 'but'."

"There's something standing in the way of my taking it."

"What on earth would that be?"

"I won't have any more carrots to dangle in front of your nose, you know, whenever I want to get a little something from you."

Krei smiled. "I take it you want some special promises from me, then."

It was a little bit true. But Hiro knew, just as well as he did, that some things- you can't do forever. It was perhaps a little bit cruel to keep Krei hanging like this, forever without an answer to the business proposal, forever not knowing what Hiro would ultimately do. 

He didn't lie, that day- when he said that he met Krei Industries' competitor. He really did meet them. If he wanted, he could get the both of them in the palm of his hand. But this wasn't some game one could just play forever.

"What is this?" Hiro gestured from the man, to himself.

"Me, getting reported to the Better Business Bureau."

"Seriously." 

"Well, I-" Krei considered this for a moment. "I've risked a lot for the opportunity to work with you, Hiro. To give you what you want, even when I have no guarantees of getting a deal in return. I hope that means something to you. Since, it means something to me."

"It means something to me, too. And I appreciate that. It's just..."

"You've made up your mind, then." 

The CEO was ready to concede, in defeat, sensing that Hiro would not do any sort of licensing deal with him. Things took a different direction.

"Are you seeing anyone?"

Talk about dropping a bomb on someone. "Right now? No."

"I didn't think so."

"What are you thinking about?"

"I know it's not really in the cards for the two of us, to... you know. Be something people know about. Be an item." Hiro stared at the ground.

"I- well- um- let's just say, there are a lot of obstacles." Krei wasn't expecting that one. Undoubtedly, if a lot of word of this got out, it might not be the end of the world as they know it, but it would at least be a little bit scandalous. He didn't want it to come across as too negative, but that was the honest truth.

"But, would you ever keep doing this with me, even if you weren't just doing what I told you to do? Even if there wasn't a multi-million-dollar business deal in it?"

"Asking me that question a while ago would be different from asking me now-"

"I know."

"Still- and I don't know what answer you're expecting, but- the answer is, yes."

"How come?"

"I'm just a sucker for punishment!" 

Hiro smiled and grabbed Krei, and kissed him full on the mouth, pressing hard. "Yeah, okay." 

The air was empty and quiet outside. 

For that moment, he resisted the reflex to close his eyes and instead stared into Krei's. He liked moments like these, when he didn't need to worry about anything. This passenger seat wasn't going anywhere. He considered all the events leading up until all of this and was glad he and Krei knew each other. Moments like these transported him back to a time that was simpler- somehow it made him nostalgic about nothing in particular. It was only a simple gesture, but he held Krei's hand. 

* * *

Somewhere in Fred's mansion, watched by no one, was today's newscast on the holoprojector. The butler would get around to turning it off. The team had gathered up their suit upgrades, and set off for their purpose, since today was the day they had it all planned out. Today, they were going to find that masked person, the one who stole Hiro's microbots. Their journey to the island of the shut-down test site was enough of a lead, so that they could try and map out the Yokai's next course of action.

The projector came to life with a familiar broadcast station logo and a woman in front of a desk, with a stylized nighttime San Fransokyo cityscape in the background.

"And today, in local news, marks the day of the official ribbon-cutting ceremony at San Fransokyo Tech, for their new campus addition! The building was in its planning phase two years ago, and just saw completion last week. The building is intended to be a brand new robotics facility for use by all SFIT students. The facility comes fully equipped with state-of-the-art hardware, so that's also nice- the effort accompanies, as well, a large charitable donation to the local community. The ceremony is expected to draw in upwards of five thousand people."

The camera cut to a view of the new, completed facility, with security and tape around it in preparation for the event.

"Here's a view of what it looks like- we've got our crew here, on site, bringing you the latest. Any SFIT folks watching now can see that it rivals the size of the other robotics building, the Ito Ishioka facility, although this one has markedly different stylization. The official name is as of yet to be announced. Needless to say, all the students and tech enthusiasts have reason to be very excited."

It cut to a diagram showing a schematic of the building, then to a woman standing outside the the facility site, with people- security, suits, and news crew- busy, filtering in and out of the background. Once in a while someone would pause to look awkwardly at the camera.

"Let's bring in our local events correspondent Jane Lawrence, joining us live. Hi, Jane." There was a very slight delay, and then she beamed and responded. 

"It's certainly a wonderful day, to be visiting the SFIT campus district. So much activity and excitement all around! Today is also, incidentally, commemorating the 80th anniversary of the establishment of the school."

Standing amongst a few of the other executives, Alistair Krei scanned the crowd around, and caught a glimpse of the news correspondent. They were here a bit earlier than he expected. Really, he was looking around for Hiro. Just in the unlikely event that the boy had a change of heart, and decided to come to the ribbon-cutting ceremony after all. Unlikely, but possible.

The ceremony would mark the culmination of a pretty huge philanthropic effort on the part of his company, and it was a cause in which he was personally invested, as an SFIT alumni. So he had been looking forward to it, for some time. 

Still, no dice- there was no sign of him or Baymax anywhere, nor any of his college friends. It would have been so nice to get a live demonstration of Baymax, even if the flight suit wasn't finished enough to be demonstratable, even if there was nothing to show of the microbots. His brief glimpse of the big white nurse-bot still left him suitably impressed, and he was so sure everyone else would be, too. Hiro must have really had something else to be doing, today. Ah, well. 

These things drew on far longer than they needed to. First, the pre-party, then the social hour, then the opening remarks, then the actual important part of the ceremony. He wished he could just skip to the part with the robots and call it good. All the other division leaders were anxious to get a few words in and show off in time for executive performance assessments. But there was only so far you could go, when you were only supposed to be exchanging pleasantries and publicly-announced things, free of non-disclosable information.

All the same, while he didn't feel it was his place to ask, he wondered what sort of thing Hiro was up to, right now.

And the answer, was 'zipping up the back of a fully-functional, fire-breathing Krogar costume'. 

The college school mascot shifted around anxiously, wanting to see how it turned out. After a few minutes of fighting with it, it was done up all the way.

"There. Why don't you test it out!" Hiro said. Right on cue, Fred torched the area in front of him, narrowly missing Honey's portable chemistry set. She made a quick save to get it out of the way, while Wasabi had a chemical neutralizer at the ready.

"Sweet! It works!" He wanted to warn fred to be careful where to point that thing, but it was a lost cause.

"You ready, Hiro?" Go Go looked at Hiro. All of a sudden something came over him, and he stared downward. "What's wrong?" 

Could they really catch this 'Yokai'? As to who he was, or why he would steal the microbots, there were more questions than answers. He thought about what Krei said- about how dangerous this creature could be, or what it could mean if they confront this masked person. As much as he tried to tune it out, it was true- this person might have violent intentions. Hiro, the inventor of the microbots, knew better than anyone- that their only limitation was the mind of their operator- they were capable of anything.

"I-it's nothing. Let's go."

They took Wasabi's car, with Baymax still in his suitcase. It was hard to be very stealthy with him riding on the roof. As they drove, the boy stared down at the microbot in his hands. He didn't know where it was leading them. They cruised down the residential streets of San Fransokyo, picking up speed. Since, the bot didn't show any signs of locking down on something other than a direction.

"Take a left-" Hiro said.

"Are you sure this is the place?" Go Go asked. "The bot's leading us here?"

"Positive."

Wasabi looked around. "But, this is SFIT campus. Or at least, part of it."

Yes- sure enough, the signal took them someplace that looked marginally familiar, to at least four of them. But, this wasn't just any part of campus. Sealed off, crawling with security- it was the new robotics facility building, a construction site for the longest time. 

And there was a massive gathering of people. Students, faculty, businesspeople, all were gathered by the front steps of the new building. It was too far away to see a lot of what was going on, but it seemed that they were listening to speeches. There was a news crew not too far, too. 

They took the car around the other end of the construction sites, so that they could leave it behind one of the less-used faculty buildings, exploiting some of Fred's connections. They did have most of their gear on, so this would help minimize the chances of them being seen. Of course, this put them a bit further away from all the action. 

But it was still in eyesight. Hiro squinted and tried to get a better look. He wanted to know more about what was going on. There was a huge round of applause, as the speaker finished, and another one came up and shook his hand. Honey caught his attention. "Hiro, you ready to go?"

"Yeah. Let's go."


	2. Chapter 2

With the petri dish containing the signalling bot still in hand, they set off in the Yokai's direction. It took them through the maintenance area by the back of the building, by an underpass, then through the hallways of one lesser-used faculty building, devoid of people today. They were inside, then back outside.

The signal seemed to grow stronger and stronger. The bot went into a frenzy, and Hiro turned the petri dish sideways to see what would happen. Strange- it was almost as if their target was underground. Now matter how he angled it, compass-bot insisted on traveling nowhere except below. Go Go looked at it. "Is it broken?"

"It shouldn't be." Hiro had just verified the bot was sound, before they left. But he felt something. His eyes shot open. "Wait."

The presentation pulled in an even bigger crowd than the speakers before, as the robot demonstrations were underway. First, there was a robotic arm that would revolutionize prosthetics. Then, there was a software learning algorithm that could solve any game. Then, there was the new generation of holo-projector, nearly indistinguishable from real life. All from students or alumni and SFIT, the were an excellent plug for their robotics program. It was a shame, really, that the famous program founder, a renowned figure in the scientific community, couldn't be there to see it.

After the demonstrations were the closing remarks. Alistair Krei, in his blue pinstripe suit, stepped up to the front, to give the acknowledgements.

"This has been an incredible day for me, and for all of us at Krei Tech! I'd like to personally thank the students and faculty here, our design staff, all the folks back at corporate headquarters, our clients, our contractors-"

But the ground below stirred, with no indication of what was underneath, far enough away from the crowd. No one noticed. 

"-our R&D division, our Connected Solutions division, our manufacturing division, our IT division, especially our IT director, Dave, who-"

Whatever it was, was deathly quiet, and didn't go out of its way to make its presence known. Even when it surely possessed enough power to bring everything to a halt. 

"...and everyone else, the fantastic people behind making this project possible. This is an incredible time to celebrate the anniversary of SFIT's inception, and a deep honor." 

Some birds flew away from a manhole. One of the pylons blocking off the area wobbled under the tremor. The thing underground was careful enough, and deliberate. The force, not enough to knock the pylon over, normalized under the ground and then it was still.

"It has been a long journey getting here. At Krei Tech, it's simply in our DNA to treat every challenge as an opportunity. We have many successes behind us, and in front of us. We've faced so many challenges, and there will undoubtedly be more, but we will never, ever let them delay our progress."

The ground burst open- revealing the shadowy figure in the mask, experiencing daylight for the first time in so long, emerging alongside the myriad of tiny, interlocking robots.

"So, how much of a delay was my daughter's life?!"

The masked figure, the same one that Hiro caught a glimpse of earlier, except now the mask was off. And Krei didn't even have to see- he knew from the voice. Everyone thought the man was dead. 

"Did you hear that?" Honey asked. They all did, and now the compass-bot pointed someplace anew- the other side of the building they were next to. No. Hiro realized, that was the exact same area as the ribbon-cutting ceremony. There were thousands of people there, and they were all in danger. And- no. Could Krei be there, too? They rushed, following the sound. 

They didn't have to go far.

In plain daylight, there it was, the unmasked Yokai- with Callaghan's face- and he was not alone. Surrounding him was a legion of controllable microbots that looked virtually identical to Hiro's. The microbots formed long, fearsome limbs that bolted Callaghan into the ground, and threatened anyone who dared to come near.

They picked up Krei, snatching him by the midsection, as if it were nothing at all. Lifting him far above the ground, he met Callaghan's eye level. 

It all made sense, now. The Project Silent Sparrow video he saw, and the disappearance of the bots... That man wanted revenge for Abigail's disappearance into the portal. No one had suspected that he would fake his own death.

"Let him go, Callaghan." Hiro put on a brave front, but he was afraid. There were more bots than he ever had in production, and they likely had different software, so who could say what they were capable of. Of course, the man was more than capable of reverse-engineering them.

The microbots formed hard, unbreakable bonds around Krei, keeping a swift and painful hold over Krei's whole upper body. He tried to break out of them. The links kept him suspended firmly in midair. There was no escape.

"You didn't deserve Abigail."

"You're right. I didn't. Please, you've got to understand-" His words were cut short as their grasp was painful, making it difficult to speak.

"After everything that happened, how is it you were so eager, so willing, to sacrifice her- just to save your company's reputation? What was she worth to you?"

The man tried to regain some of his ability to move and speak. "You need to understand, she agreed to everything. The protocol, the threshold for the magnetic field, the failsafes... I did exactly what she signed off on, and what she instructed me to do. No more, no less." 

It was true. It was the job of someone in Abigail's position to understand the risks. She was a daredevil from a young age, risking safety and legal trouble for competitive botfighting, something Hiro knew only too well. As the most daring test pilot around, she was willing to go to extremes to show that the teleportation technology was possible.

"Are you trying to tell me that she _wanted_ to disappear into that portal? That she deserved to be there?!"

"N-no, I-"

The older man smiled. It was something dark. "You don't deserve air."

"Callaghan, stop!" Hiro swiftly climbed on Baymax's back and rocket-boosted up to meet Callaghan. "Baymax, rocket fist, that way!" The big robot deployed its right fist not directly at Callaghan, but at the beam structurally holding him up. If they could knock him off balance, the others could close in on him on the ground. 

The armored fist made full contact with that column of bots. It made a terrible sound, and a chain reaction started, of bots losing link. But it didn't work as well as he hoped. Where it broke down, another, new one reassembled in its place. They weren't about to give up. Go Go electro-cycled up the side of the mass of bots, but it knocked her right back down. Wasabi's blades couldn't make a dent in them, and Honey's chemical projectiles weren't enough to trap them in place. Even Fred's flamethrower couldn't reach enough of them at once.

Fortunately for them, Callaghan's attention was directed mostly toward Hiro. He maneuvered quickly in the air, and was quickly becoming a nuisance. The accuracy of Baymax's flight module had improved a lot since he started. Maybe, he should try a different approach. If he got close enough, he could reach the neurotransmitter on Callaghan's head. Actually, it was most likely to be none other than that mask. It should just be that easy.

But it wasn't. The upgraded interlocks on the bots were stronger than Hiro had ever imagined, and Callaghan was very adept at co-ordinating them to block the way. 

They hadn't given up. To their good fortune, Honey landed a projectile in exactly the right spot to distract him, and the bots all wavered. Hiro saw this as an opportunity. The fastest he'd ever flown, he maneuvered Baymax right towards the trapped man like a bird of prey. "Grab on!"

Bursting through the shroud of half-engaged bots, Krei was unravelled out of their grasp and thrown against Baymax's large body. He quickly obeyed. There wasn't much choice, of course- it was a long way down. He awkwardly clung to the flying robot's leg while Hiro remained on Baymax's back.

Like this, they took off, far into the air.

"Are you okay?" 

"I-I'm fine... " 

The man was visibly a bit shaken up, and now hanging on for dear life. "Don't worry, I'll get us back down."

The three of them touched down in the rooftop of the facility, while the four of Hiro's friends were still in the midst of a life-or-death battle against their former professor. Krei disembarked, airsick among other things.

"Do you know what Callaghan's trying to do?" By the time Hiro and the others arrived, Krei and Callaghan were already in the thick of it.

"He said he planned to reassemble the portal. It shouldn't be possible, but with the leftover pieces from Project Sparrow, he could really do it. Especially, someone like him- I'm sure of it. There isn't much time." It wasn't enough that Callaghan would simply kill Krei. No- this whole city block was going down, and him with it. 

"Wait here." Hiro keyed in some commands on Baymax's interface, and took off immediately toward Callaghan. So it wasn't just a matter of stopping him- it was a race against time. They needed to prevent the man from re-activating the portal here. 

When he flew down back to the battle site, it was still going strong. Honey still had plenty of tungsten carbide, and everyone else still had battery. Maybe they could wear him down. 

The boy charged right for Callaghan. Maybe he should have thought it through a bit more, but there was no time to strategize about these things. He lined up the throttle, took aim toward the mask's co-ordinates and gunned it. 

Unfortunately, Callaghan clued into it. He could swear, that man had eyes on the back of his head. Maybe something was in the mask. He summoned a massive block of weaponized bots- around the size of a car- and charged them against Hiro. The force was tremendous. Even shielded by his flight suit, and Baymax, it knocked him flying through the air. Mid-trajectory, it pursued him, cruising through the air faster than he could jet away. It slammed him and baymax toward the project building.

The impact was enough to puncture Hiro's armored form all the way through the building's rooftop and the top story, and he landed on a couch in a big office area. The suit absorbed much of the impact. But, wait- he was separated from Baymax. Where was he?

He looked around. Past all the rubble, and some damaged furniture, there was Baymax, holding Krei, shielding him from the fall. "Krei-"

"I'm fine, Hiro, thanks to- wait." The man started to get up, trying to help Baymax up with him, but the white robot was motionless. "Is he all right?"

Hiro got down to the floor, and inspected the robot. "The booster just took out the rest of his battery." Hiro slung Baymax over his shoulder, and dragged his marshmallow-like body, with Krei's help, over to the wall. Even with all the damage to the ceiling, there was still electricity here. He took out Baymax's emergency charging cable and plugged it in.

And they heard the noise, outside, low and ominous- huge metal components, locking together. It could only be one thing.

"Callaghan is really trying to kill me- either by his own hand, or the portal. From the looks of it, you, too."

"We can find a way out of this."

"Hiro, I never wanted it to end this way. Especially for you. It doesn't make any sense."

"Stop it."

"Maybe, if getting me out of the way is enough, and he spares you, you can find a way to reverse-engineer the portal and the forcefield. Then, in the future, you can prevent this from ever happening again."

"I'll need your help."

"No, you don't."

"Maybe I don't. But look, now we know who the Yokai is. At the end of the day, Callaghan is just a man. He has his reasons for doing all of this, and he can be stopped." 

"But he's using your microbots. They are capable of anything. They're going to reassemble the portal."

"I designed them, so I happen to know that there is one pretty significant limitation."

"What's that?"

"Their design allows perfect synchronization between all the units. But it's also completely centralized. They all share a single point of failure. The neurotransmitter is in his mask. Without that, the synchronization breaks down."

"And then they can't activate..."

"Exactly."

"How can anyone ever reach that mask?"

"If we try, we can."

The boy looked over at Baymax. He wondered how his friends were doing, and hoped that they were safe. With their help, and with Baymax, they could put a stop to all this. As the battery charged, ever so slowly, the white balloon-like mass started to inflate, and the display panel chirped away. All was not lost, at least- not yet. 

"All the time, you're behind all these genius ideas. Flight, a fighting bot, near-invincibility. And yet, you're willing to risk everything to save the people here. For who knows how long I've worked in this business, but I still don't feel like I've accomplished anything close to what you can do. I wish I could have become more like you, Hiro."

"Why are you talking like this?" 

Outside, there was another huge noise. A couple of the windows of the building smashed, and a huge, sharp metal limb plunged through one of the far walls, in search of blood, and came back out the other side. Hiro's eyes widened and what all of this meant. But, he had to tune it out. Much as he tried to keep his cool, an "Oh, no..." escaped him.

The charging indicator on Baymax was almost complete, just a couple more minutes.

"Hiro, I just- I mean- may I kiss you?"

"Kiss me?"

"... No, nevermind. Sorry."

"Of course." He stepped toward the Krei, ignoring the rubble on the floor, and all the chaos that was happening outside. "Come here." 

He threw his arms around Krei's shoulders and Krei bent down to meet his height. It didn't matter, since right then, Hiro practically leaped into the CEO's arms and hung off of his body. When their lips met, it felt somehow like it was the first time. They both, at the same time, closed their eyes into the kiss. The man placed his hands on Hiro's armored shoulders and tenderly pulled himself close. He wanted to envision some way they could escape from here. The kiss was all he could really ask for. He honestly believed it was their last one, even if Hiro didn't.

They separated when the 'charge complete' beep was signaled on Baymax. Hiro crouched down and keyed in the boot routine. Now fully inflated, the white robot came to life.

But something wasn't right. Dust? There was something, a substance, falling from above. Then, it was falling from everywhere that the ceiling was intact. They both looked upward.

The ceiling started collapsing upwards. 

So were the floor, the furnishings, and everything else. In the missing parts of the structure- the gaps where there ought to be sky- was the portal's enormous surface. Callaghan was really doing it. He assembled the parts of the containment device, and they were too late to stop him. The whole building started dismantling, pulled helplessly upward.

Hiro helped Krei to get on Baymax, and then the boy geared himself into the robot's back, and they boosted off right out of the ceiling. This was not over. Not yet.

They flew out of the collapsing building, narrowly avoiding the brand-new pieces of staircase and foundation flying upwards. Finally, they were at the other side relative to the portal, but not far enough away from Callaghan's grasp.

He saw them, and sent out a spike of microbots after them. Hiro tried to dodge out of the way, but the boosters couldn't turn accurately enough. He didn't know what to do. Finally, one of the spikes got in a lucky hit, right on Krei, and dislodged him from Baymax, sending him freefalling downward. Hiro's eyes shot open when he realized it. He couldn't recover the man in time.

Callaghan looked over. So, one of the spikes had found its mark. "Mister Krei, you're just in time."

"Why are you doing this?"

"What you did to her... _The same thing will happen to you_." He knew exactly what that meant. "I _know_ what she would have wanted. The two of you will finally be together!" The space overshadowing the two men grew dark, as the thick swarm blocked out the light. The microbots towered up above, collecting together, and then making way for the massive portal overhead. 

Another column of bots seized Krei, and lifted him up. They were going to throw him into the portal. 

Hiro realized what was happening, boosted over and grabbed Krei's hand at the very, very last moment.

It wasn't enough. The force pulled him hard, away from Hiro, upward. The reinforcements on Hiro's glove slowly, slowly slipped. As fast as anything, Krei's hand separated from Hiro's glove. How could this be happening? He watched helplessly as the man disappeared into the vortex.

"Krei..." He collapsed down, and felt himself unable to breathe or think straight or do anything. There was nothing left inside of him. Not even enough to say anything. The world got cloudy. Unreal. "You, too?"


	3. Chapter 3

Slipped away, right under his fingers. None of this felt real. It couldn't be. There was so much noise and chaos all around, and yet the whole world felt like something empty, horrible, soundless. His friends even called out for him, now that he'd resurfaced, but he could hardly hear them. Maybe he should have been thrown in that portal, too. He just wanted to just curl up and break down in dispair, but knew it wouldn't do any good. No, he needed to _do something_. 

Wait-

Maybe, he _could_ go in that portal, too. No one had ever emerged from one alive, but that didn't mean it was impossible, was it? There was science involved in this type of energy that was still unknown. He had to find out. At least, he still had Baymax and his flight suit. He was going to save Krei and stop all of this- or die trying. 

And, Baymax's voice snapped him back to reality. "There is a man in there." He pointed a stubby finger toward the portal. "Because of hazards in that environment, his safety may be at risk."

"Let's go, Baymax." Full-speed, Hiro engaged his visor and boosted himself straight off into the portal.

Go Go looked upward, blocking out some of the light with her hand. "Guys, are you seeing this?!" She watched as Hiro and Baymax disappeared into the glowing surface.

"Oh, no, Hiro..." Callaghan watched, with satisfaction. Honey barely held back tears, incredulous. "H-how could you..."

"You're gonna pay for that." said Fred.

"Wait, guys-" said Wasabi. "If we attack him now and break the mask, it'll deactivate the bots that comprise the portal."

"So what?"

"If Hiro has any hope of coming out of there... the microbots have to stay in place." It was true. And Callaghan wasn't going to give up, until every last remnant of this facility was destroyed. 

Go Go stayed resolute. "Just try and buy more time. He'll make it out of there."

Hiro and Baymax permeated the portal surface. Inside was a whirlwind of colors, strange energy wave patterns, and an unusual atmosphere. His sensor was going haywire, but it could still observe human life. 

And sure enough, right in the doorway of the portal, since there was little time, or velocity, to travel too far inwards- there was Krei. Unconscious. The sensor showed that he was alive. Yes. He knew, in his heart of hearts, that it was possible. It had to be. It was too early to celebrate- they needed to get both of them out of here. 

"Let's grab him and go back, Baymax."

"There is another life-form, here." What on earth could that be? There should just be the two of him- himself, Krei, and the robot. But, he saw where Baymax pointed. There was a flight capsule, with Krei Tech branding on it, only a few paces away. 

He was at odds. It should only take a second to grab it, and get back through the exit. Baymax was fully charged. He had to risk it, if Abigail was in there. Maybe, they could save two lives that way.

They boosted over, and took hold of the Silent Sparrow capsule, and exited the hyper-space.

In the real world, while they were battling Callaghan, Wasabi saw Hiro and Baymax, carrying the unconscious Krei in one arm and dragging the flight capsule in another. "Guys!" 

Honey managed a glance over. "Hiro!"

Baymax, while boosting out of the portal, was losing altitude a bit more quickly than normal. It would be a rough landing, but they could make it. On the grass, away from the battle scene, they touched down, dropping the flight chamber, and the man, who still had yet to awake.

It caught the attention of the whole gang- but not just that- also, of Callaghan.

"Abigail?" He could scarcely believe his eyes. Amidst this whole plan, the whole effort to re-assemble the portal, she was in there, in hypersleep, all along. 

Reeling, he set himself down closer to the ground and deactivated the mask, and surrendered. Tens of thousands of the microbot swarm fell to the ground, lifeless.

The four of them crowded around Hiro, Baymax, and Krei. Wasabi asked, "Is he all right?"

"I don't know."

"My hands are equipped with defibrillators. Clear!"

"Stop-stop-stop-stop- he's waking up."

Krei blinked, and rubbed one of his temples. "...Hiro?"

"We made it back." Hiro smiled at him, his eyes close to tearing up. 

He couldn't be bothered trying to hide it. This was one of those ever-so-rare times where he would smile, and there was nothing smug, or smart, or sarcastic about it- just what was genuine- he had those experiences back in his earlier, more innocent days, before he even fell into botfighting and all of that. 

Never had he thought he would ever have that feeling again. But it happened. That pure, more genuine side of him was still there. And that same part of him had feelings for Krei all this time, even though they were different from the things he acted on before. He loosened his grip on Krei's shoulders. 

He shouldn't make a scene. But it was too good to even be real. He hugged the man, beyond caring, tears coming from the corners of his eyes. Krei, in his half-awake state of mind, weakly hugged him back. Hiro's friends didn't think too much of it- after all, he just saved the man's life, and they were both happy to be alive. It didn't really matter whether they knew the extent of it.

"I'm glad you could make it, after all... to the robotics demonstration. You're just in time." Krei winced, and muttered.

"What?" Fred asked.

"My sensor indicates a minor concussion. Here is a cold compress."

"Thanks, Baymax." Krei pressed the compress to his head. It was starting to feel better. Baymax looked a little bit more threatening than normal, what with the bright orange body armor, but deep down, he was still a nurse-bot.

"I am satisfied with my care."

While the disaster recovery squad was busy diverting the onlookers away and blocking off the scene. There were thousands of people with no idea what was going on, but the portal had not claimed anyone else. Now, the news team could sink their teeth into an even better story. They switched gears, and began reporting the mysterious 'Yokai' figure, speculations on the technology he was using, and the heroics of the team that stopped him. Meanwhile, The paramedics rushed in and took Abigail for monitoring. The transition out of hypersleep could be a long one, and should happen under medical supervision. Krei and the others didn't sustain much injury, so they were fine to go. 

The police took away Callaghan. Maybe he could rest easy, knowing Abigail was alive. The rest was out of Hiro's hands, now.

* * *

Some time passed since the fateful ribbon-cutting ceremony, and the demolition crew had already started cleaning up the damage. It was a disaster, the whole building was leveled and totally unrecoverable. Where there once stood a shiny new robotics building, there was only a pit, blocked off by pylons and caution tape. But Krei Tech had deep pockets, and there was no real hurry to get the project done. In fact, they were already busy drafting plans for the new, even more ambitious facility building that would stand in its place.

Hiro got his microbots back, and could rest easy knowing he was the only one who had them. The tens of thousands of bots were cleaned up out of the portal site, and their neurotransmitter was destroyed anyways and their version of the software gone forever, rendering them useless. At least, Callaghan would have no way of accessing them ever again. He supposed he might try to innovate a 2.0 version of them one of these days. He had all kinds of free time now that he was officially retiring from botfighting. If he continued his robotics projects, he wanted them to be used for good purposes. 

The CEO was back at work, having formulated a public explanation for the events at the ceremony- 'a science experiment by an unaffiliated third party, evolved grossly out of hand'- and steering the company out of any big financial losses. Miraculously, the events made their stock price go slightly up instead of down. Apparently the heroics of the team of 6 and their role in shutting down the portal had drawn in some positive publicity and interest. The company was currently working out how much insurance would cover for the rebuilding and for which parts, and so Krei was on the phone constantly.

He heard his assistant's voice. "Mister Krei? There's a visitor, here to see you. A 'Hiro Hamada'?"

He told the person on the other end he could call them back. He wondered when he would see the ex-botfighter again. It would be the first time, since that day. Actually, it was funny, they had indeed met in this very office before. The circumstances were much, different though. He thought about it, and flustered a little.

And then Hiro walked in, through the closest set of office doors. "Hiro!"

"We did it." The boy hugged him. There was no hesitation when Hiro pulled him close for a kiss. 

"If not for you, I would've been killed that day. I don't know how I could ever, ever repay something like that!"

"Aw, it was nothing."

"I mean it." Krei held both of the boy's hands, affectionately. "While I have you here, there's been something I've been meaning to tell you, whenever there's a chance." He looked rather more serious, all of a sudden.

"What is it?"

"About the microbots. And the other tech..." He looked down. "I don't intend on asking for you to sell them anymore. Because I owe you my life. How can I ask you for anything?"

Hiro frowned. "Do you mean that?"

"I've got no designs in stopping you from doing whatever it is you plan to do with the microbots- that includes going to our competitor, SFIT, or any place else. If you keep the microbot designs, fine, if you sell them, that's just as well, too. Everything still stands, of course. But now, there's nothing more I can really offer you, that I haven't already. This is out of my hands, now. I'll stop asking you about it."

Hiro's mood lightened. "I'll believe it when I see it."

He looked into Krei's eyes, and figured it was a genuine promise. Even though the man was telling the truth, it didn't really change anything. As far as Hiro was concerned, this was bigger than the licensing deal, bigger than some sketchy affair, now. He couldn't use the microbots as a tool to manipulate Krei forever. But by the same token, he couldn't use the fact that he saved Krei, either. The decision was his, on where things could go next.

Later that day, he arrived at the pair of sliding glass doors, holding a nice flower arrangement picked out by Cass. The sign said 'St James Kisai Central Hospital.' He glanced around, feeling a bit clueless not knowing the way around here, and got some directions from reception. Finally, he located her room.

Walking in, the young woman looked up from her book. He recognized her instantly. "Abigail?"

"Hi." She looked up, and smiled. "I didn't expect a visitor right now. You look familiar, I apologize-" She may have caught a glimpse of him, that day. Consciously, or not.

"I don't think we've ever actually met, but- my name's Hiro Hamada." He put the flowers down, on the table, next to some others.

"Oh! My godmother told me all about you. The nurse, too. What you did that day was very brave, I don't even know what to say."

"I'm more impressed that you went into that portal in the first place."

She smiled. "Science takes risks. Someone's gotta do it."

"You weren't scared?"

"You're an ex-botfighter too, right? See, you know how it is."

And then, Hiro remembered that too. They chatted a bit about the botfighting scene, what kinds of robots and strategies they used, and why they left. Hiro could see easily becoming friends with someone like her. She was tough and resiliant, reminding him a bit of Go Go, but had a warmer personality and an experience growing up that was very much like Hiro's. Like him, she was a robotics enthusiast that excelled ahead of her peers, but had trouble fitting in at school, and turned to botfighting as an outlet growing up. 

She put it aside in favor of pursuits that could actually advance the scientific field, namely- becoming a test pilot at Krei Tech. All of it became a bit more complicated when she became involved with Krei himself, before project Silent Sparrow happened. Hiro wanted to ask about some of this, but there wasn't really a good way. Although, the flower arrangement next to his did catch his attention. It was a nicely-presented, elegant arrangement of white lilies that seemed to dwarf the others around it. "Those look nice."

"Ah, yes. Those are from Krei Tech's own Alistair Krei- you know him, of course." She playfully said the name out like that.

Hiro felt a bit flustered. "Yeah."

"He must be really grateful- because you saved him that day, too. I'm going to try and talk sense into my father. If you see Krei, tell him that."

"But, won't you see him again? I thought you two were, like- involved."

"What? No, certainly not."

"Uh- I'm real sorry, didn't mean anything by it. I don't know why I thought that." Hiro mustered.

"Oh- no, it's quite alright. It's totally fair- since we were involved, but that was a while ago. Just wasn't expecting that one."

"Before Silent Sparrow?"

"Well, yes, before Silent Sparrow. At least, a little before the planning phase was underway. We broke it off, but it was on pretty reasonable terms and we decided to stay friends. Actually, things are better that way. My father never approved of him. That wasn't the reason we broke up, mind you- just an incidental thing."

"Since then, I doubt Callaghan's views have changed much."

"You don't say." She laughed. "See, I can joke about it now. Part of it, maybe, was my father just didn't like me doing that type of work. You know, dangerous work for corporate interests, rather than some publicly-funded research effort. Alistair was completely tangled up in all of that, from the start." 

"He spoke pretty highly of you, to me."

"Oh? I'm glad to hear that. I have good impressions of him, too. Please, give him my regards."

Hiro smiled. "I will."

When the boy left the hospital, he felt like he knew Abigail quite well, even though this was their first time actually meeting. 

Elsewhere, Krei was still in his office. Finally, a lull in the phone calls, the meetings with investors, rushing from one appointment to another. He looked out the window of the highrise, and wondered what Hiro was up to. He wondered if the boy would take him up on his 'offer', if it could be called that- to just never speak of the microbot sale again. Krei felt like he was still internalizing what happened at the ribbon-cutting ceremony, and reconciling the fact that he barely escaped with his life. 

He never would have thought things with Hiro would go this way, or this far. Now, everything had spiraled far, far beyond anything he initially expected. He didn't want to use 'that' word, when he thought about these things. It was a complicated thing. 

They way he understood these things, of how one person could feel about another person, could just as easily be tangled up with feelings of admiration for their accomplishments, or in what they could possibly do for you, or in the simple reality of being attracted to them. But none of these could undermine what was forming underneath. It was something else, very far-flung. Did he even need some word for what this is? He wished he had some way to tell Hiro about this, but he lacked the courage right now. And maybe all these things didn't matter any more. 

He couldn't say what the future would hold. The feelings he had before, for other people, for Abigail- he called them 'love', but they were really something else. He knew in his heart of hearts that, ever since meeting him, everything was about to change.

All of this was still so difficult to pin down. 

* * *

That autumn day- that seatback, fully down, was nice and comfortable, and neither wanted to separate. They held one another close, laying on their sides in a locked embrace. Hiro's jacket was folded and neatly placed on the driver's seat. Of course they would get going later, when he was good and ready. There was no particular rush- the CEO didn't have any meetings planned for today, and Hiro wasn't meeting his friends until later. For now, this was enough. 

"The answer is yes."

"How come?"

Krei didn't feel compelled to say anything about it, but he couldn't remember the last time he was this happy. Hiro leaned in close to the man's collar, burying his head there, and closing his eyes. 

In some ways, he just wanted to stay here forever. Hiro had never felt anything exactly like this before. What was it, exactly? He never thought he'd want anything beyond the physical things. This was a deep feeling engendered by romantic ideals, things he never thought he could believe in anymore. He wanted to stay here at least a little while longer. Because, he needed to understand what this was. Because, he felt the same way.

All while the red and yellow leaves drifted down on the outside for ever.

"If it's what you want, then I promise to see you only. I mean, out of anything in the world, that's really the least you could ask of me."

And he had his answer. 

"-But you have your own life, too. Don't put everything on hold, for my sake. I don't want for this to just waste your time." Krei continued.

"Waste my time?"

"Since, I just don't know if I can ever be that person. The person that ultimately makes you happy."

"That isn't up to you."

"I know. You're the smarter out of the two of us-"

"-That's irrelevant here-"

"-and, after the things you've gone through-"

"-no-"

"-and I can't guarantee how things are going to turn out, later. Only you, and I guess- the future, can decide that-"

"Krei, just- stop. Wait. Maybe, it won't be now. But, wait, though. Wait long enough. And then you'll see it, too."


	4. Epilogue

This version might be the one. Lately the days were long, the drafts were thankless and he'd lost track of the sheer number of times he had written and re-written the software. Re-calibrated the form factor. Painstakingly revisted the whole design. It was a demoralizing number, anyhow. He ejected the flash storage, threw it to the side, and plugged in a new one. Papers and discarded prototypes cluttered all of the desk, and parts of the floor. The products of so much blood, sweat, and tears- all of it meant nothing until he had proof that it worked. He has proved to himself again and again that the design was possible in the simulator. Real life shouldn't be that far off. But when would he know for sure?

Last night, he had nearly thought of giving up on it. The machine failed to even POST when yet another set of capacitors were blown out. It reminded him of one of his old fighter bot projects, actually. The computational unit was overclocked right to the point of inoperability, and could power on for a few seconds before shutting down. It actually reminded him of a botfight design he'd seen once, that operated fully, permanently, under a similar over-heating hazard. Despite being a grown man now, he sometimes thought of his old botfighting days with fondness. He thought he would have thrown all those memories away when he entered adulthood, but it was never that simple. Even now, little had changed, in terms of his interests and priorities. It was all he could do just to keep from pulling another all-nighter at the lab. Instead, last night, he opted for a full night's sleep. Not because he felt like he needed it- because it felt like there was no end in sight. No, he wasn't all that used to seeing this place in the mornings. The sunlight beamed in when he opened the laboratory window.

Taking a deep breath, he activated the device. He watched the familiar black screen, and the scrolling output of the boot routine. It wasn't like he had _completely_ surrendered his gift to corporate interests. He had half a mind to donate this to the school, since they appeared to still want it. As one of their most celebrated alumni, he'd been asked to show up at at least one of their robotics demonstrations- all the better if he could bring this along. At the prompt to flash the new operating mode switch vectors he cabled it to the other box and struck a key on the interface. He waited. Minutes passed. All the while, he heard a person pass through the second set of laboratory doors but tuned it out. Finally, the system emitted another POST beep, then made a whirring noise and. In the throes of its rebooting for the umptenth time, robotic limbs cabled to the machine came to life.

It worked. 

Maybe it was too good to be true. He watched the output on the screen in disbelief- when, out of the corner of his eye, the figure from the hallway came in the laboratory door. Just in time. When he realized who it was, he excitedly he threw his arms around the man, greeted him with a familiar, tender kiss and invited him to come and watch the startup process. There wasn't time to tell him about this new design when they'd left for work this morning. But he could see it now. Whenever he pulled the other man into his arms, like this, he always loved the man's sandy hair and blue eyes. The way he still wore that tie. The man kissed him back with all the same tenderness as ever. Even now that he'd grown a bit bigger- although as far as people go, he was still scrawny as anything. All the same, he'd grown into a handsome young man. He had a head start when he moved out, and well-poised for the real world. He closed his eyes into the embrace, scarcely wanting to let go. The other man smiled, feeling the excitement and sensing that the inventor's next breakthrough was close at hand, and held him close. He was ever so happy for him, even if this invention was to be donated to the school. 

The sun, filtering through the massive panes, poured down into the lab and powered the panels on the device. When they separated, he leaned onto the man's shoulder. Together, they watched the prototype assembly in full operation, for the very first time. He didn't need to say anything about it. He didn't need to reason about these things- what used to appear so far away. Even as all this time passed like it had, it gave him all kinds of answers. He was the one. They were together, all this time, it was everything he wanted and they could make each other happy. But it was his first time feeling this way, when it wasn't just some old memory. 


End file.
